This investigation describes the impacts of dietary provisioning with astaxanthin on hemato-biochemistry, non-specific immunity, and disease resistance of the Asian seabass, Lates calcarifer, against the virulent Vibrio alginolyticus; with specific reference to dose-response associations and variations over different post-infection periods (0-, 7-, and 14-day). Triplicate groups of fish weighing 28 g, on average, were fed various diets (C, the control or astaxanthin-free; AXT50, 50 mg astaxanthin kg-1 diet; AXT100, 100 mg astaxanthin kg-1 diet; and AXT150, 150 mg astaxanthin kg-1 diet) for 90 days and subsequently challenged with V. alginolyticus at the end of the feeding period. Experimental infection unveiled that supplemented fish demonstrated significant improvements (P
Ulam or traditional vegetables in Malaysia comprise more than 120 species representing various
families ranging from groundcovers, shrubs to trees. The leaves, shoots, flowers, fruits, roots and rhizomes of the vegetables are eaten fresh as salad or cooked and are consumed to add variety and flavor to the diet, as well as for their health benefits. Ulam species are rich in carbohydrate, protein, mineral and vitamin. This study established that ulam species differ greatly with respect to types and concentrations of carotenoids in leaves. A total of 10 species were evaluated for quantitative and qualitative carotenoid composition through spectrophotometry and HPLC analysis. The main carotenoids identified in these selected ulam were lutein, neoxanthin, violaxanthin, zeaxanthin and β-carotene. The ratio of these carotenoids varies between species.
Carica papaya (papaya) fruits are available throughout the world and it is well accepted as food or as a quasi-drug. Aqueous papaya leaves extract have been used as treatment for dengue fever. This prompted us to carry out the docking study on these nine selected ligands (phyto-constituents of papaya) which are carpaine, dehydrocarpaine I and II, cardenolide, p-coumaric acid, chlorogenic acid, caricaxanthin, violaxanthin and zeaxanthin. These phytoconstituents were evaluated on the docking behaviour of dengue serotype 3 RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp); influenza A (H1N9) virus neuraminidase (NA); chikungunya virus glycoprotein (E3-E2-E1) and chikungunya virus non-structural protein2 (nsP2) protease using Discovery Studio Version 3.1. In addition, molecular physicochemical, drug-likeness, ADMET (Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion and Toxicity) and TOPKAT (Toxicity Prediction by Komputer Assisted Technology) analyses were done. The molecular physicochemical analysis revealed that cardenolide and p-coumaric acid (2 ligands) complied with Lipinski’s rule of five. Dehydrocarpaine II, cardenolide, caricaxanthin, violaxanthin and zeaxanthin all the five ligands were predicted to have plasma protein binding (PPB) effect. Docking studies and binding free energy calculations revealed that p-coumaric acid exhibited very least binding energy irrespective of its target protein. Hence, the results of this present study exhibited the potential of these nine ligands as antiviral agent.